Automated Generation of Precast Concrete Slab Stacks for Transportation in Offsite Construction Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148, Issue 8
Abstract
In an off-site construction (OSC) project, how to transport the components has a significant impact on the project performance. During the transportation, slab stacks are usually generated in the process of loading precast concrete (PC) slabs on a trailer. Because there are various factors for consideration and numerous ways of composing the stacks, it is difficult for production managers to generate the stack quickly and effectively without the help of a computer. This study sought to formalize the process of generating PC slab stacks, which consists of the following six phases: (1) input data and parameters, (2) make a preliminary stack by tolerance, (3) refine the stack with stackability and installation sequence, (4) divide stacks by maximum layer, (5) check loadability of stacks, and (6) calculate and report metrics. As a result, a prototype developed based on the formalized process offered more stable and errorless stacking results that limit the reshuffling effort of site installers than experts (prototype: 93.0% stability, zero errors, and zero reshuffling work; experts: 88.6% stability, 1.5 errors, and 1.1 reshuffling work). This study contributes to the transportation theory of OSC by identifying considerations for PC slab stacking and formalizing the specialized stacking process reflecting them, which enables the development of an automated PC slab generation tool in OSC projects.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) grant funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Grant 22ORPS-B158109-03).
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Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148 • Issue 8 • August 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 3, 2021
Accepted: Apr 11, 2022
Published online: Jun 6, 2022
Published in print: Aug 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 6, 2022
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